suze

The most obvious answer on how not to look like an American tourist, is travel on your own not as part of a large group.

I mean think about it.... How does someone know your country of origin if you dress decent, keep your mouth shut, and are one or two people walking down a street?

When you have a bunch of people loading off a motor coach, trailing around after a tour leader most likely lecturing loudly in English, it does make you stand out from the norm.

Besides, now I am curious... How are all these people insisting they are against the war? The angry Italians spoke English? The American tourists all speak fluent Italian?

I have no advice how to handle a similar situation because I have never heard of this type of encounter in Italy or elsewhere in Europe, either during my own travels or reading for years on bulletin boards like this one.

michaelcrane

I was in Italy on 9/11/01 and stranded there for a week extra because of flight cancellations. The Italians could not have been friendlier and more sympathetic. Your story is absurd: "a colleague of mine's sister's friend who has a cousin of her aunt's said...."

Leona

Ditto, Michaelcrane.

A colleague just returned from her honeymoon in Rome, Venice & Florence and in fact, has been there many times. They were treated royally.

dgruzew

I agree that the story is a little " my friends sisters friend, etc etc"

But I do think that italians are agry at america(mabye not americans) BUT I totally agree with PalQ. I think itlians should deal with there own goverment instead of the US. Why do they burn american flags ( no-one can dispute this happening several times) when they should be petioning there own goverment to pull out of Iraq.

I think this protesting against america is a way that they vent there own lack of control of there own govt. The italian people have the power, but they (the protesters not italians in general) would rather act like America is the root of all there problems.

The spainards decided to vote for the anti-war canidate only AFTER a bombing. Even though most spainish were against the war they the polls were in the opposite direction until the bombing?? what does this say about the spainish - I really don't know - but I find it very strange that they would even consider electing the same president that brought a country into war after 90% of the people disagreed. I beleive the italians have the same problem but have not been bombed.

All in all - I would not worry about any of these stories. nor would I go out of my way to not look like an american - I really don't care. If asked my reponse would be that I was against the war ( which I am ) but I could add "But If I said I wasn't what are you going to do about it! " I don't think that my policial view (or anyone elses) should affect the way that people treat me on a day to day basis

Jean

An interesting thread... I've wondered how I would react if faced with a similar situation. I think I'd just say, "I'm not here to talk politics, just spend money." I suppose they could shift into you-capitalist-running-dog mode, but I'd remind them that tourism is pure capitalism and just smile.

LilyLace

Jean you've touched on another very good point in all this. From my own quite extensive experience with friends from various countries in Europe. The fact is that in the US we are much more verbal about our feelings. We direct our conservative or liberal opinions and ideals toward anyone without much thought (those of us that are even a little politically active), where as in Europe it's not quite as common. Yes, there are demonstrations, but mostly directed at the government and political figures not so much on a personal level. Many would consider it rude to ask what political affiliation a person might be. Which makes me think all the more that this was a rare case.

boxwood

i thought this was about travel - not a political forum. don't hide behind a fodor's travel chat site with your lame ideas of foreign policy.

Huitres

The blatant reason it appears that your sister's group was targeted was that she was traveling with an organized tour group. Individuals, families, and those traveling in smaller numbers have, to my knowledge, never been bothered. I think the very presence of a large, English speaking crowd was enough to attract attention, albeit unfavorable attention. I have never experienced any hostility or problems in the over 6 years I have been traveling back and forth to Italy. Hopefully, her next experience in Italy will be a pleasant one!

platzman

This story sounds like a crock of bull. I'm not accusing the person who posted the story necessarily, but it is third hand information. I guess thats no different than what you see on the so-called TV news.

easytraveler

I believe it's perfectly believable that a bunch of Italians would descend on a bunch of Americans, but for totally different reasons than the war in Iraq.

Last year, in Budapest, in Hero's Square, we arrived about 9:15am, a few minutes after all the 9am tours had started. The German tours were gathered to one side, deep into the technical aspects (how big the square, when built, etc), the French tours were on the other side and their tour guides were discussing the cultural aspects of Hungary, the single Japanese group had the most expensive cameras and were snapping enough pictures to last everyone for a thousand years, the two English tours were headed for the main street to get the "perfect" view of the entire square behind them; and the Italian tour group - ah, yes! The Italian tour group. They were gathered in the middle of the square, half of them were talking all at the same time, none of them was listening to any one else, they were also waving their arms around very energetically. I couldn't tell who the tour guide was, there was so much excited conversation.

When we had finished our tour, the Italian group still hadn't started on theirs.

seaside1: Are you sure that group of Italians wasn't asking some perfectly innocent question, like, where's the best restaurant? Or, would you like a tour of our lovely city?

Unlike any other people on earth, Italians are able to carry on three conversations simultaneously: one with words, the other with their arms with help from the rest of their bodies, and the third with rolling eyes.

You might want to inquire of your sister's friend's husband or whatever which one of the three simultaneous conversations was about Iraq. It could have been the unimportant one, while the group of Americans completely missed the main conversation.

How many political parties does Italy have? 50? 60? With that many parties, Italians are used to political disagreement and discussion. They are too sophisticated about politics to attack anyone just because they happen to disagree with that person. This story sounds like pure American fiction to me!

tuscanlifeedit

I have often thought of wearing a little maple leaf pin to foreign lands, and I can say "I'm Canadian" in a few languages, including Italian. However, despite frequent travel to Europe, I've never resorted to these base tactics.

And, most interestingly, the two Italians that I know best are both in favor of the war against Iraq, and seem to think of me as peace loving lefty kook.

Katherine

I wonder if those were the same Italians that I met that thought that all Texans carried handguns. I told them yes and that we roll up the sidewalk in downtown Fort Worth around 6:00 in the evening to get ready for the gunfights......

l_jackson95814

Katherine, I always thought that all Texans carried guns and all of us Californians surf....

jdraper

When we were in Italy in April we did not experience any anti-american sentiment at all and when we were asked what country we were from we proudly said we were from the United States. I may not always agree with the leaders but I will never be ashamed to admit that I am an American. I am proud of my country and would never pretend to be from elsewhere. Maybe the reason I have never had a problem is because I treat my host country with respect and try to understand their people and their culture rather than insisting that they conform to mine. Whether we agree with it or not we have many men and women who risk their lives daily so that we can be free. Why would any you choose to pretend you are from another country and act like you are ashamed of your own nation? Shame on you!

Neil_Oz

As the OP hasn't been back to defend his/her position I think we can assume that it's just another mischief. Ira hit the nail on the head - like most urban myths, these things tend to happen to someone who told someone else who told the tale-teller. I can only guess at the motivation, though - what are these phony posts meant to achieve?

Katherine

I Jackson.....heehee

capo

<i>Ira hit the nail on the head</i>

Neil, I just looked that up on Snopes.com and they say that &quot;Ira hitting the nail on the head&quot; is actually an urban legend.

tedgale

tuscanlifeedit: I haven't heard of the &quot;maple leaf pin/ impersonate a Canadian&quot; dodge since I was a teenager. (Back then it was to avoid being hassled over the Vietnam war.)

It's wonderful to know there are still times when (some) Americans want to be us -- if only for a few days, when abroad.

Now if only the Americans didn't annex the following (Canadian) celebrities as their own: Peter Jennings, Matthew Perry, Brendan Fraser, Frank Gehry, Alex Trebek, Mike Myers, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young,etc -- all the way back to Mary Pickford, Louis B. Mayer, Walter Pidgeon, Glenn Ford, Deanna Durbin, Norma Shearer and the late lamented Fay Wray....

USNR

The original post reads like something I would expect to hear on Paul Harvey and/or Bill O'Reilly. Sounds like a great big troll, should you ask me.

Josh

Ted,

The people on your list have not been annexed by the Americans as their own. Most of them have chosen to live and pursue their careers in the US.

By the way, you can have Brendan Fraser back.